


It Wasn't His Fault

by End_Transmission



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Brief but descriptive description of wounds/body, Child Death, Darker turn, Death at the hands of a loved one, Grief, It's got the swears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 09:32:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10241645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/End_Transmission/pseuds/End_Transmission
Summary: It wasn't his fault. He hadn't wanted to take Angus McDonald along for the ride in the first place. He'd warned the others, from the start, that taking the kid with them was a Bad Idea.Of course, he might have fought a bit harder if he'd realized just how much of a bad idea it really was.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hi All!
> 
> This is definitely a darker story compared to my last. If you're sensitive or bothered by ideas like a child being killed or brief, but kind of descriptive descriptions of burn wounds and a body, this may not be for you! Otherwise, I hope you enjoy and get that good, good angst vitamin.

It wasn’t his fault.

He hadn’t wanted to take the boy detective along with them at all. He’d warned them, hadn’t he, about how much a nuisance Angus would surely be?

“Kid can’t actually shoot that crossbow worth a damn, my dudes. We’ll have to protect him and shit like, all the time. Too much work for Taako, no doubt about it.”

Magnus had been, infuriatingly, on the boy’s side.

“C’mon guys, he’s really not _that_ bad. A little annoying maybe, but it could be a lot worse! ‘Sides, the Director’s right, he could use some field experience beyond sleuthing.”

Merle had, as Merle does, gone with the flow. He’d griped and complained about having the kid along, but in the end he’d just shrugged his shoulders with a “Meh, fine, whatever. Bring the kid. Not our fault if he gets himself killed…fuck, it’ll give us some peace and quiet, actually.”

 Taako had tried, really tried, to put his foot down a little more firmly. At least, in the way that Taako does. He’d bitched and moaned about the upcoming mission and their tagalong for _hours._ Usually, that worked. If nothing else, it should have at least made the other two annoyed enough to rethink the stupid fucking plan. But the Director had continued to insist. And Angus. That damn kid. The damn kid and his damn eyes and his damn stupid innocence…

“Please sir…I, I know you don’t like having me around much but, I promise I’ll be the best boy I can be! And I really can help! I won’t be a bother at all, I swear!”

He had nearly been in tears. And as much as Taako complained about and teased Angus, he didn’t really want to _hurt_ the boy. So in the end, he’d begrudgingly agreed, terrible idea though it surely was. But let it be noted that he’d fought it from the beginning.  

It wasn’t his fault.

When they’d crash landed in a foggy, foreboding place that was supposed to be sunny and clear, he’d told Angus to wait in the pod. It’d be hard enough to see each other, let alone trying to keep an eye on a small boy. Angus had balked, but that was expected. It was much more annoying when both Magnus _and_ Merle had insisted otherwise.

“Please sirs, don’t leave me by myself…besides, what if you get into very bad trouble? An extra head to help you out could be a very good thing!”

“C’mon Ango, you stick with us. Don’t want the whole pod to smell like piss when it gets back to base, huh?” Magnus had said, gesturing at the other two and speaking again in a lower voice, “we can’t just leave him here, Taako. What if something attacks him?”

“Oh just bring the kid. Leave him here and he’ll probably just get himself into more trouble, like Magnus said. You really want to go poking around trying to find him when he gets lost? I sure as hell don’t,” Merle had groused.

Outvoted again. Taako had huffed, had pulled his hand away from Angus when the boy had reached for it. He’d ignored the hurt look on Angus’s face. Taako had a bad feeling about this place, and having Angus along only made him feel worse. He was annoyed that the boy was here. He was annoyed that he was being undermined at every turn. And he was especially annoyed at the anxiety curled in his stomach. Worry, he tried to not recognize, concern for the damn _kid_ they’d brought along on what was shaping up to be an exceptionally dangerous mission.

He’d sooner die than admit that.

It wasn’t his fault.

After all, none of them had expected freaky, mind-bending, magic fog stuff. Who would? It had snuck up on them, too, just a bit thicker and whiter than the fog already surrounding them.

The automation had looked so real. They’d seen plenty of them up until then after all, so Taako should know one when it was staring him right in the face. Taako had turned to make a well-timed arm-based joke when he realized that he was alone. No Magnus, no Merle, no annoying boy detective.

Well whatever, he’d thought. He’d just have to burn a few spell slots and avoid being hit, two things he was usually pretty damn good at. They didn’t call him Taako “flipwizard” Taaco for nothing, after all.

Okay, so he mostly just called himself that. But the same rules applied.

He hadn’t been _nervous_ , but he had been a touch concerned for his continuining well-being. It turned out, though, that the automation was easy enough to deal with. A quick fireball, most of which struck the automation alone due to the machine’s size, and the creature stopped. Began to fall.  

And the fog, as if waiting, had cleared. There was no automation. No gears or parts or burning metal to be seen anywhere. But there was one Angus McDonald.

The boy’s eyes are wide. They’re staring at him. They’re moving down to look at his own body. Taako’s eyes follow.

Where there should be cloth and skin and wholeness there is, instead, a burning crater. Angus’s arms…they were flesh before, weren’t they? How has the boy come to be more char than flesh?

The life is gone out of him before he fully hits the ground.

It wasn’t his fault.

He had never foreseen a situation like this when he’d begun teaching Angus magic. It had just been for fun. It’d been to boost his own ego, always able to hold up just how much better at magic he was than the boy detective. It was because he knew the boy would never completely let the topic drop unless he gave in and taught him.

He had never in a hundred years imagined that knowing the bare essentials would classify Angus as a _real_ magic user.

He had done it because it provided torment opportunities too good to pass up. After all, Angus was just too much fun to mess with. Easy to scare, easy to tease. Who would pass up such an opportunity?

He’d never have picked the damn thing up if he could have seen this future. He would never have brought it anywhere near the boy if he’d known.

He had done it because he thought it could be a little fun. Because Taako had a bit of a teaching bug to scratch. Because although he’d never admit it under even the worst of tortures…he kind of liked having Angus around. Liked the way the boy lit up with joy when his spells worked, even if the hand was still missing fingers and a little misshapen. Liked the way Angus looked up to him, no matter how mean Taako got, no matter how much he teased the boy. Sure, his other two friends seemed to like having him around, but nothing close to the way Angus did. Angus admired him, Angus…probably loved him.

It shouldn’t have been enough. The magic inside of Angus should have been minimal at best, not enough to even get on the radar.

Taako thought he might love Angus, too.

It had been an accident. There hadn’t been real intent behind it. The fucking umbrastaff should have _known_ that.

But it didn’t. It didn’t know. All it knew was that Taako’s spell had felled another magic user. All it knew was that there _was_ magic in that body. Magic it could absorb.

Taako thought Angus’s magic essence was tinged with deep blue. He could have sworn it felt inquisitive and bright and cheerful as it approached, as it was absorbed into the umbrastaff. It was so very Angus.

It wasn’t his fault. Why didn’t the other two seem to understand that? Why did they look at him in horror?

“Taako…” Magnus hadn’t been able to even finish his sentence. Taako can hear rebuke on his tongue. Demands in his voice. _Why?_ Or _Dammit Taako, this isn’t the time for jokes…put it back!_ Or _how could you? Anyone else I get but dude this is Angus…isn’t this already bad enough?_

_(No, they’re horrified at what they’ve seen. At the umbrastaff’s reaction. They don’t know what Taako will do. He never could fool them, after all. They know he cares for Angus.)_

Reproach in their eyes and excuses dead in his mouth.

_I didn’t do it on purpose, dude! I can’t control this fucking thing, you know that._

_Don’t you think I’d put it back if I could? Jeez, I’m a liar and often a thief but I’m not a monster!_

But he can’t say the words. They don’t come. He gapes like a fish out of water. Collapses to his knees. He thinks he’s crying. Didn’t realize he even knew how.

A hole in his chest. Burned blood on the ground. Angus’s lifeless body, laying in the dirt.

They try to keep him from Angus. They really think…how could they actually think…?

_(But they don’t. They’re grabbing for him. Magnus is trying to embrace him. Merle wants to keep him in place. They’re trying to help, to contain his sorrow, to stop him seeing the body on the ground. Too late. Too late.)_

He fights them. He shoves them away from him. He won’t be kept from Angus. He needs to be with the boy detective.

His boy detective.

He cradles the body to his chest and thinks, maybe now they understand. Their looks of anger and reproach soften, and now they must know, because their hands on his shoulders are gentle.

_(The anger and reproach don’t exist. Instead, they are seeing they can’t shield Taako from this. They can’t even shield_ themselves _from this.)_

“Hey, just an accident pal, right? Shit like this happens. Could have been any of us, with this fog in our heads. Probably better it was a quick spell job from you…Magnus might have ripped his damn arms off!” Merle’s joke falls flat. He knows it. The air about him is apologetic. Taako doesn’t even hear him. Magnus pulls the dwarf into a brief hug. Forgiving.

It wasn’t his fault.

So why did he feel like it was?


End file.
